


Alphabet Challenge - RanRei

by shirokarai



Category: Uta no Prince-sama
Genre: Drabble, Drabble Collection, Fluff, M/M, just. gays being gays alright
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-14
Updated: 2017-08-13
Packaged: 2018-10-19 00:07:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 3,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10628034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shirokarai/pseuds/shirokarai
Summary: a serious of drabbles, beginning with A and ending with Z. they vary in length but each one seems somewhat gayer than the last.





	1. Angel

Reiji squinted at the magazine article pensively. He’d been holding the copy for probably at least five minutes by this point, but hadn’t bothered to begin to read the interview accompanying it. He was instead entirely focused on the photo which took up more than half of the page. Right there, staring back at him, was his very own Ranmaru, entirely naked save for a white silk robe, sprawled out onto a bed of white roses, some of which were scattered across his legs, some climbing on his torso. The robe had slipped down a bit to reveal a portion of his bare chest, but one of the roses had been strategically placed to cover his nipple. A halo had been photoshopped just above his head, which was tilted ever-so-innocently, along with a set of feathered, ivory wings bursting from his back.

Reiji wasn’t quite sure how he felt about this picture. Of course, Ranmaru looked absolutely _ethereal_ , but this was nothing new, he always looked beautiful. It was just that the angel trope didn’t suit Ranmaru's image in the slightest. Reiji was shocked that Ranmaru would even _agree_ to do something like this, something that painted him in such an innocent light when clearly… he was the exact opposite.

Reiji thought for a moment, remembering all the moments Ranmaru had cried over a sad movie, how physically affectionate he suddenly became when he was tired, and how embarrassed he would act whenever Reiji made a sexual comment towards him.

 _Perhaps he’s more of an angel than he lets on_ , Reiji mused to himself. _Yes… he’s my little angel._


	2. Beg

“I won’t say no again.”

“So you’ll say yes!?”

“That’s not what I meant, dumbass!”

Reiji assumed the expression of a kicked puppy, while the actual puppy in his arms remained perfectly happy, tongue dangling from his wide-open mouth. Reiji reached up to scratch behind his pointed black ear, and the puppy responded by barking in approval before leaning his head back to lick at the bottom of Reiji’s chin.

“But look, he loves me so much!”

“He isn’t a cat,” Ranmaru stated flatly, crossing his arms across his chest and neglecting to look the creature in the eye.

“Let’s see if you like Ran-Ran~” Reiji gushed to the little dog before setting him down on the ground. Immediately the shiba inu raced over to Ranmaru. He stood up on his hind legs and batted at Ranmaru’s leg with his two front paws, letting out a whimper as if requesting the same attention he had received from Reiji.

“Aw, he loves you too!” Reiji laughed. Ranmaru simply stared down at the animal pensively. “Pleeeeeeeaaaase, can we keep him?”

With a begrudging sigh, the silver-haired man knelt down to pat the creature on the head. “Fine. You’re taking him for walks, though.”

“Deal!” Reiji clapped his hands together, a look of absolute glee spreading across his face. “Let’s take Azuki to his new home~”

Christ, he’d already named the thing. Hopefully Ranmaru didn’t end up regretting this.


	3. Crush

“Ranmaru, truth or dare?"

The silver-haired man winced as he heard his name uttered in Reiji’s voice, particularly because it preceded those three words. Why the fuck had Otoya suggested this? And why was _he_ allowing himself to get roped into it? He exhaled sharply through his nostrils as he considered his options, seeing as there was no way out of it now. Ranmaru probably would have accepted a dare from anyone else, most of whom would likely give him something normal like “lick the floor,” but he just _knew_ that Reiji would come up with something stupid and entirely humiliating, like “sing _Rise Again_ but in Spanish and you have to do the Gangnam Style dance simultaneously the entire time.”

With a shrug of his shoulders, he answered, “truth.”

However, Ranmaru would have rather done _anything_ else than have to answer the question, “Do you have a crush on anyone?”  


Nearly choking on his own saliva, he turned to scan his little audience - every single one of them was staring at him expectantly. Even Camus and Ai looked somewhat intrigued.

Throat clenching and heat rising in his cheeks, Ranmaru turned his head to the side, thinking _maybe_ his fellow idols wouldn’t notice the redness in his face if he wasn’t looking directly at them. But obviously, it doesn’t work that way. “Yes… I do.”

Varied noises of surprise shot up from the group.

“Who!?” Cecil piped up.

“Yeah, tell us!” Syo pressed.

“Hey now, hey now! We asked Ran-Ran to only answer _one_ question, and he did.” Reiji looked over at his bandmate. “Well, whoever has your heart, they must be a very lucky person.” He punctuated his sentence with a playful wink, and then the game continued.  


Ranmaru’s heart rate picked up when his mismatched eyes met those soft tawny ones, and the wink sent an electric shock pulsing through his chest. _Not really_ , he said in his head. _You deserve better than someone like me._


	4. Delirious

“Reijiiiii,” Ranmaru whined. “Where’s my soup…”

“Literally right next to you, Ran.” Reiji clucked his tongue, plunging the spoon into the translucent golden broth and carefully carrying it over to Ranmaru’s mouth. “I’ve been feeding it to you for ten minutes.”

Ranmaru closed his mouth over the spoon and swallowed. He smacked his lips as he mulled over the taste of the chicken stock. “It’s too cold,” he eventually ruled in a surly mumble. 

“Because it’s been here for ten minutes,” his bandmate chuckled. Ranmaru had come down with a _really_ shitty fever, and since Reiji was the only Quartet Night member without any obligations for the day, he was Ranmaru’s designated caretaker. He didn't have much to complain about, though - Ranmaru was absolutely helpless right now, and it was admittedly adorable, though Reiji did feel bad that the bassist was suffering.

Ranmaru groaned Reiji’s name once again, and when Reiji turned his head toward him, the ex-rockstar whispered, words slurring, “I wanna tell you a secret.”

Playing along with an exaggeratedly enthusiastic smile on his face, Reiji leaned in closer to Ranmaru’s pinkish, sweat-covered face, though keeping enough of a distance that he wouldn’t contract the bassist’s condition.

Reiji’s expression then dropped as Ranmaru whispered, “ _I’m in love with you_.”

What the _hell_. Reiji pulled back to look at his bandmate, fully prepared to ask if he was serious and what was wrong with him, but Ranmaru had passed out cold. His silver eyes were clenched shut, lips slightly parted as he let out short, sharp breaths in his slumber.

Reiji chuckled. Of course. Ranmaru was just delirious from fever.

Double checking to make sure Ranmaru was completely asleep, Reiji bent down to plant a kiss on top of his damp, warm forehead. Perhaps he himself had some sort of delirium as well, although his wasn't fever-induced.


	5. Elevator

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> implied smut

The chrome doors slid open, and nearly as soon as he had stepped in, Reiji found himself being shoved into the corner of the elevator. Hunger flashing in his mismatched eyes, Ranmaru curled one arm around Reiji’s waist, slamming the other into the wall just beside Reiji’s head, rendering the brunette with no place to escape - not that he wanted to. Ranmaru's rough lips latched onto Reiji’s petal-soft ones, and as their mouths attacked each other Reiji noted that his lover tasted of bourbon, though he doubted that the alcohol was any more than half the reason for this behavior.

Their lips departed from each other’s, still connected by a translucent string of saliva. “I couldn't stop thinking about you all through dinner,” Ranmaru breathed. “I’m gonna tear those fucking pants off with my teeth when we get to your apartment.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” Reiji mewled before returning to right Ranmaru's mouth, sliding his tongue along the bassist’s and nipping at his lower lip. Then, a sudden realization forced him to pull away.

“…Ran-Ran?”

“Mm?”

Reiji giggled, motioning to the wall of numbered buttons behind them, none of which were lit up. “You forgot to press the button.”


	6. Focus

“Reiji. Stop.” 

“But Ran-Ran, I wanna see the lyrics you’re writing!” 

“Yeah, well I can’t write anything when you’re quite literally breathing down my neck. Quit distracting me.” 

The shorter man gave a pout, which went entirely ignored by Ranmaru. With an exaggerated sigh of defeat, he slipped his arms from around Ranmaru’s neck and crossed them over his chest before plopping down onto the couch, releasing another sigh for emphasis. 

“ _Reiji_.” 

“Whaaat?” He couldn’t help but chuckle when Ranmaru glanced over his shoulder at the other man, cocking an eyebrow in annoyance. “Alright, alright! Go back to work on your song.” 

Ranmaru was about halfway through his first draft of a chorus when Reiji said, “Hey, Ran, if roses are red and violets are blue… why are they called violets?” 

Ranmaru dropped his pen, letting it softly clatter to the desk. “I… what?” 

“You know the saying, _roses are red and violets are blue_. Well, if they’re blue, why do we ca- ” 

“No, I heard you. I said _what_ as in _how is that in any way relevant to what I’m doing right now_.” 

“Oh! Eh… I guess it’s not? I was just wondering.” 

Ranmaru rolled his eyes before turning back to the half-blank sheet of paper. 

Another ten minutes passed before Reiji’s voice sounded from behind him again. “RAN-RAN! Do you know what M&M stands for? Because I don't know and it's always bothered m-” 

Figuring there was no other way out of this, Ranmaru slammed his fist on the desk, spinning around in his chair so he could face Reiji. “One kiss. _One_. And then you’ll shut the fuck up and let me do my work, yeah?” 

With a smug grin, Reiji lifted his arms, signaling for Ranmaru to approach him. 

The rocker grunted in annoyance, but had to fight to keep a smile of his own off his face. He stood up and ambled over to where Reiji was seated on the couch. One hand, palm outstretched, collided with the wall behind him, almost like something in a shoujo manga, as Ranmaru leaned down to lock his lips onto Reiji’s, which were already puckered in anticipation. 

He felt Reiji’s mouth sprawl into a smile against his, and pulled back before he could mirror the action. “There, you got what you wanted, now can I please - WAH-” 

He was interrupted by Reiji coiling his arms around his neck and pulling him back down for another kiss, effectively causing the taller man to topple over on top of him. 

Needless to say, Ranmaru didn’t get much work done that night.


	7. Glow

“Ran-Ran! I leave it to you.” 

The grinning idol then skipped off the stage, and Ranmaru watched in awe as the sea of emerald green lights before him transfigured into crimson almost instantly at the mention of his name. It never failed to amaze him how quickly the audience could change the color of their glow sticks. He was so caught up in the moment that he was almost scared by the cheerful “Yo!” that sounded behind him. 

Ranmaru turned to Reiji, who greeted him with a wink. “That’s your cue, babe,” he reminded him. “Do your best out there, okay? I know you’ll be amazing.” 

The lights from the crowd leaked into the secluded backstage area, and Ranmaru stared in admiration as they spilled onto Reiji, illuminating half of his face in blood red. He wanted nothing more than to kiss the brunette right then and there, but that would have to wait until they got home. 

He settled for a fist-bump before he took to the stage. “Thank you.”


	8. Hands

Ranmaru’s hands were rough, cracked, and calloused. The backs of them were perfectly tender, but once you reached his palms it was like touching sandpaper. He worked with his hands, after all, and unlike the snowy-pale complexion of the rest of his body, his palms had a pinkish tint to them. Lines of white ran through them, especially through the pads of his fingers, where there were slight dents from pressing down on the strings of his bass. Yellow blisters would appear scattered all over his palms every now and then, would bubble up and then pop to reveal soft red skin underneath. His nails were short, and he’d sometimes coat them in a black or dark red lacquer, but it was very rare for the polish to not be chipped. 

Reiji’s hands were different. They were smaller than Ranmaru’s, for starters. They were also ever-so-slightly darker in complexion - his natural skin tone was probably no less pale than Ranmaru’s, but all the time he spent out in the sun had caused his skin to develop a honey-golden tint. His fingers were thicker than Ranmaru’s slender digits. His nails were longer, too, reaching past his fingertips, but he made sure they were well-kept, filed into perfect round shapes and free of any dirt that may get caught underneath them. His hands were also incredibly soft, a direct result of the fact that he was consistently lathering them in lotion. He’d try out a new scent every day, and as such his hands always smelled of some distinctly sweet flavor - the mango lotion was Ranmaru’s personal favorite. 

Yet their hands seemed to fit perfectly in one another’s. 

When they’d go out to eat on their days off and were completely positive no paparazzi were around, they’d reach for each other beneath the table, their hands sightless beings fumbling around until they found each other and laced their fingers together. Sometimes, Reiji would brush the nail of his thumb against Ranmaru’s calloused palm, and the younger man would flinch as if the skin there was ticklish. Reiji would chuckle at this, and Ranmaru, embarrassed, would avert his gaze and smile. 

Though they didn’t say anything, neither of them would mind holding hands forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> did i really just write almost 300 words describing two fictional boys' hands


	9. Isolation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> major character death  
> also a lot longer than the rest of these damn sorry

A week had already passed, and Ranmaru hadn’t left his room at all. 

Neither Camus nor Ai could blame him. Though neither of the two fully understood what love felt like, they did understand that Ranmaru was in unimaginable pain, having lost someone he was so close to. Camus would never forget the look of absolute horror that Ranmaru’s face twisted into when the Count had hung up the phone that day, turned to the bassist, and said in a trembling voice, “It concerns Kotobuki.” 

He’d never forget the way Ranmaru’s mouth dropped, eyes widened, muscles trembled, when he cleared his throat and continued, “There’s been an accident…” 

It became routine that just once a day - he didn’t want to overwhelm the older man - Camus would quietly slip into his room, placing a plate of meat, rice, and varied vegetables on Ranmaru’s nightstand. They would exchange no words, but Ranmaru would grunt softly as if to thank him. Maybe Camus would reassuringly, almost affectionately, give his shoulder a soft squeeze before taking his leave. The next day, he would come to collect the food, which had been left untouched and turned completely cold and gray, and replace it, condemning the fresh food to a similar fate. 

One day in particular, Ai entered instead, but came offering no food. Instead, he sat on the corner of the bed, keeping a safe distance from the bassist. Ranmaru visibly tensed when he felt the weight pressing down on the opposite end of his bed, but neglected to so much as look up at his bandmate. “Ranmaru…" With a voice as soft as falling raindrops, Ai chose his words carefully. "I know that this is hard for you, but I’m almost certain that Reiji would want you to move on.” 

Ranmaru coughed at the sound of his lover’s name. 

“He would hate to see you in such a state, and -” 

“You don’t know what he would have wanted.” 

Ai stayed silent, figuring it was best to just let Ranmaru say whatever it was he needed to say. 

“You have no _fucking_ clue what he would have wanted. You didn’t know him like I did, so don’t you _dare_ come in here throwing his name around and pretending like you understood him, because _YOU FUCKING DID NOT, AND NEVER WILL_.” 

"You're right," Ai whispered. He supposed it was his attempt at being comforting. Having nothing else to offer, he stood up, turned on his heels and exited. “I’ll leave you to it, then.” 

Ai's footsteps faded in his ears as they descended the hallway. And once they were gone completely, Ranmaru cried. 

His fingers weaved through his hair, ensnaring the silver locks and tugging, nails digging into the soft skin of his scalp. With a staggered exhale, he bent forward and planted his face into the pillow before releasing an ungodly scream of sheer agony into the cold ivory fabric. 

This was typically Reiji’s side of the bed, and the pillow still smelled like him. Ranmaru’s entire body convulsed with sobs. 

When Reiji was around, Ranmaru had found reason to laugh, smile, maybe even crack a joke sometimes. Reason to _trust_ and feel comfortable around someone, reason to feel loved and appreciated. But now, he would have to live in a world without Reiji. A world he never wanted to imagine. 

Ranmaru had now become the same isolated shell of himself he’d been before Reiji waltzed into his life. "He's gone, he's gone, he's gone and you're all alone." These cruel, yet very true words echoed in his head as he gasped for breath between pained cries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm a monster


	10. Jokes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i think we all need something like this after the last chapter hooty hoo /wipes forehead

“Hey, Ran… why is it so hard to explain jokes to a kleptomaniac?” 

Ranmaru looked down quizzically at the man leaning against his chest. Reiji repeated the question. “Why is it so hard to explain jokes to a kleptomaniac?” 

His thin silver eyebrows furrowed. “Uh… I dunno. I guess it’s… ‘cause they… What? What you’re asking me makes absolutely no sense, Reiji.” 

“It’s because…” Reiji raised a hand to his mouth to hide a giggle. “Oh my God. It’s because…” His lips curled into a look of childish glee. “Because they always take things literally.” 

“What? Th-” Ranmaru looked absolutely lost for a moment, but Reiji’s entire body trembled with suppressed laughter as a shadow of realization passed over his face. Dark lashes slammed down on what would have been exasperated mismatched eyes as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Oh my _God_.” 

Reiji doubled over in laughter, falling back against the couch and holding his stomach, feet kicking wildly. “Wait, I have another one, I have another one!” he exclaimed as he pulled himself together, flicking tears of mirth from the corners of his eyes. 

Before Ranmaru could object, Reiji puffed up his chest and proudly asked, “What do you call a cow with no legs?” 

Ranmaru just blinked. 

Reiji’s face lit up as he provided the answer to the question Ranmaru had never asked, nor did he want to. “ _Ground beef_.” 

The silver-haired man looked at his boyfriend expressionlessly for a few moments, then let out a noise reminiscent of a snort or cough, as if trying to force down a laugh. 

“OH! What was that?” 

Both Ranmaru’s hands flew to his face, ineffectively hiding his flushed cheeks. “ _Nothing_.” 

“No, I think that was a laugh!” Reiji curled his arms around Ranmaru, tilting his face up to nuzzle his boyfriend's reddening ear. “You looooove my jokes, don’t you, Ran~” 

“Piss off, your jokes are lame.” 

“Oh come on, I know you wanna laugh…” Biting down on the tip of his tongue, Reiji started to poke at Ranmaru’s sides, and the taller man responded by removing his hands from his face to weakly paw at Reiji’s arms. 

“Quit it, th-that tickles!” he coughed out between chuckles. 

Reiji laughed along with him, catching Ranmaru’s wrists in his hands. “Your laugh is so cute. You should do it more often…” 

The other sixteen shitty jokes Reiji then delivered certainly helped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (reiji voice) you like krabby patties don't you ranran


	11. Kitchen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> uhhh i don't usually add notes to these but this is dedicated to my lovely girlfriend jasper bc she gave me the k-word for this chapter and also because we spend about 90% of our free time discussing a future verse where reiji and ran are married with kids :') i lov u bakyun

When Reiji emerged from his bedroom one Tuesday, already completely dressed in preparation for work that day, he was met with a pleasant sight. His husband was leaning against the kitchen counter, listening intently to their eldest child as she gave him a lengthy, enthusiastic recap of what she had learned in school the other day - something to do with squirrels - between bites of sausage. Ryuichi was seated next to her in his high chair with a plate of banana puree in front of him, though more of it was on his face and hands than had probably ended up in his mouth.

Ranmaru glanced up at the sound of footsteps entering the kitchen, and Raika swiveled around in her seat to investigate the source of the noise as well. “Daddy’s up!” the energetic four-year-old squealed at the sight of her father, whose response was to rush up to her and lean his head down for a kiss.

“Good morning, my girl,” he cooed before pecking her on the cheek. “Good morning, my boy.” He turned to Ryu to kiss him as well, careful to avoid the baby food that was smeared across the one-year-old’s chubby face. “And gooooood morning…” He spun on his heels as he approached the second-oldest member of their household, only to be stopped mid-twirl by Ranmaru’s arms locking around his waist. “...my dear husband!”

The former idols’ lips met briefly, and Raika giggled as she usually did at the sight of her dads kissing. Ryu, still too young to know what it meant, simply stuffed his fist into his mouth.

“Wanna eat something before you head out? I made plenty.” The silver-haired man motioned to a plate on the counter that was holding just a little bit too many sausages to be shared between him and his four-year-old daughter.

“Ah… I think I’ll just grab a few to go! I have to get a lot done at work today if I wanna come home early.”

Ranmaru raised a brow. “Coming home early? What’s the occasion?”

As dramatic and trite as possible, Reiji dropped his jaw, inhaled sharply, and tossed a hand over his forehead. “Don’t tell me you _forgot_! How could you be so cruel, Ran-Ran?”

“Huh? I don’t know what you m…” Silver eyes drifting to the calendar, the date popped out at him, which had even been circled multiple times in alternating shades of ren and green highlighter - probably for his own convenience. _**September 26**_. “Oh, shi… _shoot_. How could I have forgotten?” He turned back to Reiji, the corners of his lips tugging upwards in a contented smile. “Happy anniversary, Reiji.”

The brunette giggled, lightly tapping the taller man’s nose. “Happy anniversary, Ran,” he whispered.

Luckily, everything had been planned in advance to ensure that they would have an evening to themselves. Reiji would go to the movie set early and try to get as much footage as possible before coming home, the record shop Ranmaru owned would close two hours earlier than usual, and Haruka was coming over to look after the kids. _Perfect_.

“If you want, I can take Rai-Rai to school today, too. It’s on the way to the set.”

“Ah… that’d be great, actually. I should stay behind and deal with…” He motioned to their son, who was currently coated from forehead to chest in banana puree. “...this mess.”

Reiji giggled. “You do that, then! Remember, seven P.M., alright?”

“It’s a date.”

Another brief kiss was shared before the older man took Raika by the hand and led her to the door. “Love you!” he called back to his husband.

“I love you too.”

“Byeeeee, Papaaaa!”

“Bye, honey.”

Finally, the two quietest members of the Kotobuki family were left in the house by themselves. Ranmaru turned to the slimy banana monster that was his son, sighing in disbelief and pinching the bridge of his nose. “How on _earth_ did you manage to get it on the _fridge_ too?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> btw reiji's job now that he's retired from idol work is part of the camera crew on movie sets he's not an actor or anything
> 
> also september 26 is the day rise again came out... of course


End file.
